Empire of the Sun

Best known for their hit single “Walking on a Dream,” Australia’s larger-than-life electro-glam-pop duo Empire of the Sun feature the Sleepy Jackson’s Luke Steele and Pnau’s Nick Littlemore. Steele had previously worked with Pnau on “With You Forever,” a track from the band’s 2007 self-titled third album, and the pair enjoyed collaborating so much that they started their own project, drawing inspiration from the likes of Phoenix and Daft Punk. In fall 2008, Empire of the Sun released their debut album, Walking on a Dream, which the musicians described as “a spiritual road movie.” Featuring songs co-written by Pnau’s other half, Peter Mayes, the album went platinum in Australia and the title track became a hit single across the globe (even topping the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart nearly a decade after release when it was used in an American car advertisement). After time spent touring — and a period when Littlemore took a short hiatus from the group to write music for Cirque du Soleil — the duo regrouped in the studio to work on their second album. The disco-pop Ice on the Dune was released in early summer of 2013, after which the band toured the world. In late 2014, two new songs, “Tonight” and “Wandering Star,” appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Dumb and Dumber To. They spent a large chunk of the next year writing and recording their third album in Los Angeles and Hawaii, welcoming guests like Lindsey Buckingham, members of David Bowie’s band from the Blackstar sessions, and Wendy Melvoin from Prince & the Revolution. Two Vines was issued in October 2016, climbing into the Australian Top Ten and peaking just outside the Billboard Top 50. A year later, they released the On Our Way Home EP, which featured the title track plus additional B-sides and remixes. In 2019, the duo marked the tenth anniversary of their breakthrough debut with a special edition reissue that was packaged with a new song, “Chrysalis.” ~ Heather Phares